Photos from the Wellbeing day on Monday 10th March are under - Whole School Gallery
An overview of the day and activities to promote positive wellbeing for all.
ALL the children took part in 6 different activities that the Wellbeing Warriors and Mrs Coupland had planned since before Christmas, so a long time and a lot of hard work and effort went into organising this day for the whole school.
The children were put into family groups within their house colour then each group was then organised with other family groups from other houses to make each group even.
The wellbeing activities completed were:-
The main event was the sponsored walk or run around the school field to raise money for marysmeals.org.uk - a total of £566.00 was raised for this amazing charity.
Baking - each group made and baked some delicious vegan cookies
Five Minute Friendships - each group took part in a 5 minute chat with each member of their group - promoting communicating, listening and talking to children they might not have talked to before
Den building - each group took part in den building using large tarpaulin, sticks etc., some children made smaller dens for a little fox and some children learnt how to tie knots.
Wellbeing toolkit - each group was encouraged to talk about their wellbeing and how they can support their positive mental health using different techniques (breathing, meditating, listening to music, colouring). Each child now has a Wellbeing toolkit to refer to at school if they need it and it is personal to them to add to.
How to be Happy scrapbook - each group was shown how to keep a diary or use scrapbooking ideas of how to support their positive mental health. Each page in the scrap book encouraged children to look at the positives about themselves and support their self-esteem.
The day was very successful, the children were all engaged and loved all the activities.
A great day for all the children and staffs wellbeing, we took part in Roald Dahl day with lots of different activities.
The best day ever! |
I loved decorating my little pig biscuit…then I got to eat it. |
A Parent's Guide to the Zones of Regulation
The Zones of Regulation is an internationally renowned intervention which helps children to manage difficult emotions, known as "self-regulation".
Self regulation can go by many names such as "emotional regulation", "self control", "impulse management" and "self management". Self regulation is best described as the best state of alertness for a situation, or the ability to maintain a well regulated emotional state to cope with everyday stress and to be most available for learning and interacting.
From time to time, all of us (including adults) find it hard to manage strong feelings such as worry, anger, restlessness, fear or tiredness, and this stops us from getting on with our day effectively. Children who feel these emotions often find it hard to learn and concentrate in school.
The Zones of Regulation aims to teach children strategies to help them to identify their emotions and cope with these feelings so they can get back to feeling calm and ready to learn. These coping strategies are called "self regulation".
At Bishop Monkton, we want to teach ALL of our children good coping and regulation strategies so they can help themselves when they experience anxiety and stress. Each class is taught about to the zones and uses them in the most age-appropriate way.
Using the Zones of Regulation as a Framework, we aim to help our children to:
What are the different Zones?
So, what are the zones? There are 4 coloured zones to categorise states of alertness and emotional states:-
The Blue Zone - used to describe low states of alertness, (such as feeling sad, tired, sick or bored. Body/brain is moving sluggishly)
The Green Zone - used to describe a regulated state of alertness (such as feeling calm, happy, focussed or content). This Zone is generally needed for school work, being social and ready to learn. It shows control.
The Yellow Zone - used to describe a heightened state of alertness, but with some control (such as when experiencing stress, frustration, anxiety, excitement, silliness, nervousness, confusing) - slightly elevated emotions (being fidgety, wiggly, squirmy or sensory seeking). The person is starting to lose control.
The Red Zone - used to describe extremely heightened states of alertness or very intense feelings (such as feeling anger, rage and explosive behaviour, panic, terror or elation). Not being in control of one's own body.
You can remember the Zones by using a traffic light system.
Like traffic signs;
Blue = "rest area where you pull over as you are tired and need to recharge".
Green = the person is "good to go".
Yellow = "caution, slow down or take warning".
Red = "stop and regain control".
Important note - No zone is "bad" or "good" and we all experience them at one time or another. It is important to avoid reinforcing the idea that red=bad. Often we see with our children that they will indicated they're in the green zone, even if they're not.
It is important to validate all emotions, and we should be helping our children to identify these emotions.
Tools and Strategies for Regulation
There are multiple tools and strategies that our children can use to self-regulate - and they will be individual to each child. However, it may be useful to think about the types of activities that will help our children to regulate in each zone.
TOOLS
TOOLS
TOOLS
Deep Breathing - finger breathing or lazy 8 breathing | Proprioception exercises - wall push ups, chair push ups or palm pushes
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Meditation | Talk to an adult
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Go to a calm area
| Take a walk
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Use sensory aids - theraputty, stress ball, theraband, vibrating tools | Deep pressure - shoulder massage, bear hug, weighted items. |
TOOLS
How can you help your child use The Zones of Regulation at home?
Tips for helping your child to regulate
Where can I find out more about the Zones of Regulation?
The Zones of Regulation App (Apple Store or Play Store)
https://zonesofregulation.com/
https://www.theottoolbox.com/zones-of-regulation-activities/
https://parentswithconfidence.com/calm-down-strategies-for-kids/
At Bishop Monkton School we want our children to be healthy and happy so that they can flourish in everything they do. Sometimes children (and adults) need a little helping hand for this to happen, particularly when life seems very challenging. For this reason we have a Pastoral Lead in school - Mrs Amanda Coupland. Please use the resources below for yourselves and your children and do get in contact should you need someone to talk to - we are here to listen.
Eat Them To Defeat Them - Feb 2024
Mrs Graham and I were really pleased to be selected to take part in this campaign "Eat Them To Defeat Them 2024". We immediately started planning what we were going to do with the Julie from Tilda Rice and Julie's enthusiasm, support and help encouraged us to be creative in what we were going to do. We are currently in the process of making the display area around the kitchen more eye catching and interesting and we are going to "jush" up the display board.
The "Eat Them To Defeat Them" campaign started in 2018, as a way to encourage more children to eat and try a wider range of vegetables, especially in schools. We already encourage children to bring a healthy snack in to school and children up to the end of Year 2 have a piece of fruit or vegetable offered to them everyday (School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme). As well as Mrs Graham cooking up very nutritious food for us all to eat, each and every day in school.
During March, Mrs Graham will be cooking up a special rice dish for all the children, of which will be entered into a competition, watch this space...
Children's mental health week 5-11th February 2024
Myself and the wellbeing warriors put together a timetable of events for the whole school to take part. We started on Monday 5th, with an assembly about the importance of children's mental health and that "their voice matters".
Each class during the week, ensured they dedicated 20minutes each day to concentrate on activities that we know promote positive mental health. Activities such as, yoga, mindfulness colouring, mindfulness painting, story time in the woodland area (yes, even despite the rain this took part), playing with bubbles, balloons, the parachute to name a few.
On Tuesday 6th Feb, a lady called Jane from the "Bigfoot Arts Education" team came into school to carry out workshops with each class called "worries to wellbeing". This was a very positive experience for all the children and staff. Some of the ideas we are hoping to implement into school.
Worry Box
Each class has a "worry box", with note paper for children to write down any worries they may have. Worry boxes are a safe way for your child to post their anxious thoughts, worries or feelings in a safe way. It gives them control over sharing their worries to a trusted adult (Mrs Coupland) and it gives children a physical way of getting rid of their worries.
The "worry boxes" are checked at least twice a week by Mrs Coupland who will then act on them immediately. If the child writes a worry anonymously, Mrs Coupland addresses the whole class and a chat/discussion around the worry will take place. If a child writes their name on their worry, Mrs Coupland will speak to them individually.
During the chat/discussion Mrs Coupland reassures the pupil that they are there to listen to them and offer comfort and support.